Max Minghella is set to make his directorial debut with Teen Spirit, an emotional underdog story set in the world of pop music that Mister Smith Entertainment is launching to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next month.

Minghella, who has acted in such film as The Social Network and The Ides of March, writes and directs the project with La La Land producer Fred Berger producing alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones under their Automatik banner. Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell, who developed the screenplay with Minghella, serves as an exec producer.

Berger is bringing his musical team from La La Land to the project, including music producer Marius DeVries (Moulin Rouge) and music supervisor Steven Gizicki, previously of Lucasfilm. Cinematographer Autumn Durald will shoot the film. Interscope Records, which is handling the La La Land soundtrack, will co-produce with Automatik and will release the film’s official soundtrack.

Teen Spirit is described as a stylish spin on the Cinderella story. It follows Violet, a shy teenager living in Eastern Europe who dreams of pop stardom as an escape from her small town and shattered family life. With the help of an unlikely mentor, Violet enters an international singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition.

Source: deadline